PAINTED LEGACIES:
Historical Women Artists of the Tri-Cities
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to "Painted Legacies," a digital exhibition dedicated to showcasing and honoring the contributions of three extraordinary women artists from the Tri-Cities: Anna Perry Smith, Meredith Taft, and Florence Baker. In a world where the talents and achievements of women have often been obscured or marginalized, these three artists persevered against the odds.
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"Painted Legacies" seeks to give these artists the recognition they rightfully deserve and to ensure that their names and contributions are remembered and celebrated for generations to come. We encourage you to immerse yourself in these painted legacies and recognize the artistic contributions of these three women to the Tri-Cities. As we honor them today, we also honor the countless women artists whose talents have often been overshadowed by the constraints of history. Let their stories serve as a testament to the power of art to transcend societal barriers and as an inspiration to future generations of women artists.
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Anna Perry Smith
Life
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The story of Anna Perry Smith (1846-1932) tells of perseverance and passion in the face of adversity. For her entire life, Anna suffered from an unknown illness. At one point, she was bedridden for five years straight. She even attended an all women’s college for some time, but was unable to graduate due to her poor health. Yet she did not let this stop her from becoming a painter.
While much of Anna’s personal life remains a mystery, one of her biggest passions was art. Around the age of 30, Anna moved to Chicago and began taking painting lessons. There, she launched her career as a full-time artist. Even during this time, Anna frequently fell ill and doctors feared for her life. Miraculously, Anna conquered her illness and by the 1900s, she had opened an art studio in Muskegon. Inspired by the scenery of the Tri-Cities area, Anna primarily painted landscapes. During the summers, Anna would rent a cottage in Grand Haven and sell her art to the wealthy patrons vacationing on the lakeshore.
Anna Perry Smith (1846-1932)
Untitled, ca. late 19th-century
Oil on canvas
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2000.11.2
Style​
Anna’s artworks resonate with the ideals of the Hudson River School, a group of New York based painters during the mid-19th century. The Hudson River School artists were inspired by the beautiful American landscape and the divine power of nature. While many of the Hudson River School painters showcased the monumentality of cascading waterfalls and towering mountain ranges, Anna found the spirit of nature in the quiet woodlands of the Tri-Cities area. Additionally, Anna’s style diverged from the realism of other 19th century American landscape painters. Her loose, airy brushstrokes not only reveal the various textures of the landscape, but also give off a hazy, dream-like effect, making her paintings more expressive.
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Anna likely painted outdoors (a term art historians call en plein air) which could also explain why her brushstrokes appear light and loose -- Anna would need to work fast to capture the essence of nature before it turned too dark to paint. While photography did exist at this time, cameras were not used by artists to snap shots and bring back home to use as reference materials.
Anna Perry Smith (1846-1932)
Untitled, ca. late 19th-century
Oil on canvas
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2000.11.1
Meredith Taft
Life
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Meredith Pearl Taft Ver Hoeks was born in Superior, Wisconsin on August 31, 1908. While not much is known about Meredith’s artistic career, she became certified in Commercial Illustration from the International Correspondence Schools of Scranton, Pennsylvania (ICS) when she was in her mid-twenties. Many of Meredith’s sketches and paintings were donated to the Tri-Cities Historical Museum. Her line drawing of City Hall was used on city letterhead in the 1930s and 1940s.
Watercolor 1988.77.34
Graphite on paper 1988.77.54
Wash on paper 1988.77.36
Watercolor 1988.77.34
Commercial Art​
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With the rise of the advertisement industry during the early 1900s, professions like commercial artists became high in demand. Correspondence schools were the perfect way to train future commercial artists who could not afford to move to bigger cities for art education. Instead of having students go to on-site locations, correspondence schools taught courses through a method known as distance learning. During the 1930s, correspondence schools sent class materials through the mail. Students would then study at home and send back their assignments to the school to be graded.
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Meredith primarily received A's on all of her assignments.
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Florence Baker
Life​
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Of the three artists highlighted, the least amount of information is known about Florence Baker. She was born in 1912 in Grand Rapids, and lived in Milwaukee, WI until 1984 when she moved to 3 Memory Lane in Grand Haven. In 2015, the Tri-Cities Historical Museum accessioned three of her works after being discovered hanging on the walls of a Highland Park cottage.
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Florence Baker (1846-1932)
Sailboats, 1942
Oil on canvas
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2015.27.1
Impressionistic Style ​
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Florence's paintings are representative of American Impressionism, an artistic movement which developed from the 19th century Impressionist movement in France. The style focuses on capturing the essence of light and its relationship to the natural world. Notice Florence's quick, detached brushstrokes and vibrant pigments.
Florence Baker (1846-1932)
Saint Tropez, 1942
Oil on canvas
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2015.27.2
Travels to France​
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Aside from the year, little else can be confirmed about these three paintings. That said, the golden clock tower depicted in the painting of the waterfront village distinctly represents Saint-Tropez, a coastal town found on the French Riviera. When compared to pictures and other artistic renditions of the town, the landscape in Florence's painting is practically identical. The foliage is also consistent with the climate of Saint-Tropez. If this is the case, the painting with the sailboats is also likely in Saint-Tropez. Additionally, the painting with the haystacks, may be in the neighboring village, Gassin.
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Saint-Tropez was a hot spot for modern artists. Painters like Paul Signac, Pierre Bonnard, and Henri Matisse sought out to capture the village's natural landscape.
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What do these paintings tell us about Florence? While we may never know for certain Florence's intentions, we may glean from these paintings that Florence might have been deliberately training as an impressionist artist. Records show that Florence first travelled to France in 1941, in the midst of World War 2. She would not return to the United States until 1958. Furthermore, no documentation suggests that her husband served in France, let alone in the war in general. Florence's distinct Impressionistic renditions of the iconic site Saint-Tropez reveals that she may have sought to begin her own artistic journey by following the steps of the French avant-garde before her.
Florence Baker (1846-1932)
Haystacks, 1942
Oil on canvas
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2015.27.3
Credit​
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This digital exhibition was completed by Maddalena Frissora as a part of the Tri-Cities Historical Museum's internship program.